1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate generally to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof, wherein an alternate image is output when a printing object is currency so that counterfeiting of currency can be prevented.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the performance of image forming apparatuses (such as computer scanners, color printers, laser beam copiers, digital cameras, and the like) has improved, image resolution has also considerably improved. Accordingly, there has been a gradually increasing incidence of currency bills and securities counterfeiting through the use of image forming apparatuses. Therefore, counterfeiting crimes have been spotlighted as a serious social problem.
Since paper currency, bills, checks, gift certificates, and securities, which are currently used, have been produced by applying various counterfeiting countermeasures, the use of counterfeit bills and checks has been controlled. In particular, a method has been used in which a sensor capable of discriminating currency is installed in an image forming apparatus (such as a computer scanner or a color copier), and the currency cannot be scanned and copied by any means if the currency is detected by the sensor.
Further, the use of counterfeit bills and checks has been controlled by using a method of outputting an image of currency such that a portion of the image of the currency is omitted or the serial number of the currency cannot be seen with naked eyes. However, although the aforementioned methods can prevent the currency from being scanned or copied, there is no solution for the image forming apparatus to deal with the currency.
Furthermore, according to the aforementioned methods, since an image of currency is simply omitted or modified, the whole image of the currency is restricted from being output. Therefore, there is a problem in that various desires of users cannot be satisfied.